Anabelle Lima-Taub, a Florida commissioner, is facing censure she after claimed that Rashida Tlaib, Muslim congresswoman, was a “danger” because she will “become a martyr and blow up Capitol Hill.”
Lima-Taub, a Jewish woman who is a Hallandale Beach Commissioner, previously signed a petition aimed at removing Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan, from office.
After signing the petition, Lima-Taub shared the link on her Facebook page with the caption “A Hamas-loving anti-Semite has NO place in government! She is a danger and [I] would not put it past her to become a martyr and blow up Capitol Hill.”
Following Lima-Taub’s remarks, Congresswoman Tlaib responded on Twitter, saying ““This sort of hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric doesn’t happen in a vacuum — this President embraced it and Republicans have happily gone along with it.”
Now, as a result of her comments on Facebook, fellow Hallandale Beach Commissioner Michele Lazarow is sponsoring an item on next week’s agenda to officially censure Lima-Taub and condemn her comments, as Lazarow says Lima-Taub’s racist remarks “fuel hatred and create a hostile environment for Hallandale Beach’s Muslim community.”
“While individual commissioners have spoken out against Commissioner Lima-Taub’s hateful and bigoted remarks, I believe we need to take action as a city. I believe we must take action to show all who are watching that Hallandale Beach isn’t a place that tolerates hatred and bigotry,” Hallandale Beach Commissioner Michele Lazarow said in a statement.
Tlaib particularly notable as she is one of the first two Muslim women to ever be elected to the United States Congress.
However, instead of formally apologizing ton Congresswoman Tlaib, Lima-Taub has doubled down on her comments, saying in a phone interview “I do not apologize for my remark,” according to WSVN 7.
In an effort to clarify her comments about Congresswoman Tlaib, Lima-Taub posted a Facebook update on Wednesday, January 16, saying:
“My position on Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has nothing to do with the religion of Islam. Islam itself is a peaceful religion; however, it has been highjacked by radicals who use Islam as a shield to justify and commit terror across the globe.”